Heroics
by TooManyIdeas14
Summary: Larxene comes back from a mission with reports of a new Giant Heartless. Axel, Roxas and Xion must go with her to take it out. All the while, CIS forces close in, hoping to take the Keyblades for themselves. Giftfic for LunaEtSidera and Keyblademaster Avenger. KH-wise, this is an AU-see my profile. Platonic AkuRokuShi, plus platonic AkuLarx, RokuShi and platonic Anakin x Ahsoka.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm doing it. You cannot stop me. I'm going to cross the streams, and you're going to sit back and watch. I am making a Kingdom Hearts/Star Wars crossover story. :)**

**This crossing of universes is a double giftfic. Keyblademaster Avenger wanted a story involving Axel and Larxene, and LunaEtSidera wanted the sea-salt trio to go to the Star Wars universe. Now, the moment I read Luna's prompt, I knew that I had to do it. Star Wars is my favorite non-KH fandom, and the idea of the two being together, with my three favorite KH characters involved, gave me what is known as 'Nerd Hormones'. :) I wasn't sure how to do Keyblademaster's prompt at first, but I figured an epic stream-crossing had to help. Of course, this led to the obvious: **_**If the sea-salt trio **_**and **_**Larxene are going to Star Wars, something BIG must be going down. **_**Thus, I made it a multi-chapter tale that is setting off my Nerd Hormones just thinking about it. This is going to be awesome! :D**

**A couple quick notes: First, I'm setting Star Wars time around the middle of the Clone Wars. I chose to do this because the animation style of the Clone Wars TV show meshes so well with the Kingdom Hearts anime-like aesthetic. I would've used Rebels, but I actually haven't watched it yet. :P Second, if you're new here and don't know the Reluctant Father universe, do hop over to my profile and read the differences from the game, as some of them are important for understanding a few things. Continuity for this story is any time after Invader.**

**Enough with the hype. Time for the premiere! **

**DISCLAIMER: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square Enix. Star Wars belongs to Disney and Lucasfilm. I do not stand to profit from this work in any way. Please let there be a Star Wars level in KH3, I don't care if it isn't really Disney, just please do it, please… :)**

0=0=0=0=0=0

_There are many worlds, but they share one sky._

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**STAR WARS—THE CLONE WARS**

**HEROICS**

_(fanfare plays)_

The Republic faces a new threat! The droid army has taken over Tatooine, and has inadvertently released the Heartless, evil creatures of the Dark Side of the Force, into the Galaxy. The infestation is spreading, and Count Dooku hopes to use it to his advantage. The Republic is standing firm against the invasion, but how long can it hold out?

Meanwhile, far off in a distant world, a secret Organization plots its next move…

0=0=0=0=0=0

Saix looked up from his paperwork. Larxene bursting in, panting, generally wasn't the best sign. She was a tough one, and it would take something very big to get her like that.

Saix motioned the blond woman to come to him. "Larxene. You're not supposed to be back for at least another six hours. The others haven't even left yet. What happened?"

Larxene walked over, looking even grumpier than usual (never good for anyone). "You didn't tell me there would be a Giant Heartless!" she spat out at him, slamming her hands on the table.

Saix didn't flinch at the volume. "I didn't _know _there would be a Giant Heartless. What kind was it?"

"Some new kind. I heard some local soldiers calling it the Decimator. It looked like a tank, but instead of a turret, it had a giant, purple orb that shot out electricity. The soldiers thought it was some kind of weapon for the other side, but it had the Heartless insignia. They shot at it, and their, I don't know, laser bolts just bounced off it like pebbles!"

Saix was writing all this down. When she finished, he rubbed his face with his hands. "It's lucky you came back before the Keybearers left, then. I'll get our trio. You still have to do recon, so you're coming with them."

"Whaaa…" Larxene put on her best 'I hate you' expression. "Dude, I was attacked by a giant doomy Decimator thing! Why should I have to go back and babysit?"

"Because you have work to do. I've had to discipline you for bad attitude before, Number XII, and I'm not afraid to do it again. Besides, you won't be doing any 'babysitting'. Leave Axel to see to that."

Larxene walked off, hands in the air, signaling her 'I'm not talking to you' mode. Saix sighed. Larxene was one of the problem members of Organization XIII. She wasn't as bad as Vexen, or as innocently annoying as the Keybearers, but she had an attitude, and she was not afraid to show it off to the authority that had the means to punish her for it. Roxas and Xion broke plates on accident. Larxene broke _spirits, _on _purpose._

But she was still very good at fighting Heartless, so the Organization was stuck with her. It was one of those things that made Saix wonder if he needed a nice, long vacation. But he couldn't take a vacation now, not with a new Heartless on the loose. He got up and walked over to Roxas and Xion, who were preparing for the mission he had already assigned.

He clapped his hands to get their attention. "Heart collection in Twilight Town has been cancelled. You two are going to a new world today. It's called Far Away Galaxy. You'll be with Axel…"

The Keybearers perked up at the idea of the whole sea-salt trio being together.

"…And Larxene."

Both of their faces fell. "But she hates us," Roxas said—he was the blunt one.

"I know she… dislikes you. She isn't a fan of Axel, either. But she had a mission there. That's how this came to my attention. She needs to complete her recon. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll live."

Roxas let out a puff of breath. "Fine. What panels do we need?"

"Well, I don't know anything about this world, so you'll have to prepare blind. I'd bring lots of different spells, to test for weaknesses." He turned to the window. "And definitely bring lots of mega-potions. I have the distinct feeling that today is going to be a very long day for all of you…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

As the blast door closed shut, Count Dooku kneeled before the hologram portraying his master in a blue haze. "We are over Tatooine now, Lord Sidious. The ships most powerful sensors are scanning for the Decimator as we speak."

Darth Sidious raised his hand. "Gooooooood," he said slowly, clearly enjoying himself. "These Heartless… they are the true embodiment of the Dark Side of the Force. They are the symbol of victory for the Sith." He lingered for a moment. "And the Keyblade? Have you found it?"

Dooku shook his head. "No, my lord. Only old myths and legends. The generals insist that it doesn't exist."

"No matter. We shall find it soon. I sense it." He paused. "I sense something else now, as well. As if a great hole has been ripped in space and has opened a door… to another world."

"Another world? But such things are mere scientific theories."

"Not necessarily. I felt such a rip a few hours ago, twice in short succession. And it came with another sense. I am getting a similar feeling now. I sense the entrance of new life into the Galaxy, a group of four, but two of those presences… are hollow."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Larxene shielded her face from the two suns with her hand. "Ugh, this is worse than Agrabah. I hate this place."

Axel rolled his eyes. "You hate everything, Larxene."

Roxas looked up. "To be fair, this place is really hot."

"Not that hot." All three of his companions stared at him incredulously. "What? I'm the pyro, I like the heat. Come on, we've got work to do."

Xion looked around. "We would have work to do, if there was a place to do it."

Axel suddenly registered where they really were—the middle of the desert, with no civilization or lifeforms in sight. He facepalmed. "Okay… if we walk in one direction, we'll probably run into something at some point."

Larxene's jaw went wide. "Axel. It's a freaking desert. There are no cities in the desert. If I heard the locals right, this _whole planet _is a desert. Are you really that stupid?"

Axel closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. "Not helping, Larxene."

Xion pointed off in the distance. "Hey, what's that?"

All of them stared. A giant, lumbering hunk of metal was moving across the desert, not at all in a hurry. It had six legs, and a turret on the top, which was swinging around, as if searching for something. It was flanked by two faster-moving floating tanks of some sort, which were circling it in a defensive pattern.

Axel opened a dark corridor. "That, my Keybearer, is our shot at survival. Come on."

0=0=0=0=0=0

It had been a bad day for Captain Rex. Commander Skywalker hated Tatooine, and his complaints wore even on his loyal soldiers. Worse, the already relentless Heartless attacks were starting to pick up. No one knew yet quite what they were or what they wanted, but Rex assumed neither was good. But it seemed like when they were blasted in one place, they just popped up in another. They were everywhere, and they seemed to favor the enemy for some reason.

So when four random people showed up in front of the AT-TE seemingly out of nowhere, dressed in black cloaks that were completely inappropriate for the location, Rex was already in a bad mood. Still, they looked _very _lost, and clone protocol stated that helping civilians was an objective, even if it was a secondary one, and that meant he had to help them out.

He opened the hatch on the tank and called. "You four! State your name and business!"

The man with spiky red hair raised his arms in the air. "We're friendly. We're just a little lost."

"I'd say. You're wearing black coats on Tatooine. I don't think you're very comfortable."

The blond boy whispered to the man, apparently unaware of the lip reading system in Rex's helmet. "I thought Saix said this place was called Far Away Galaxy."

The raven-haired girl elbowed the boy and starred directly at Rex, putting on puppy eyes. "Yes, we are very uncomfortable, and we would really like it if you could take us to civilization."

Puppy eyes did not work on clone troopers. Rex didn't even blink. "Sorry, we can't take passengers. This is a war, kiddo. You could be spies for all we know."

The girl looked miffed at being called 'kiddo', but a few moments later, she had a confused expression on her face. The red-haired man mouthed the word 'later' to her, then turned back to Rex. "Maybe you can call your commanding officer? We really need help here."

Rex nodded and put his hand to his helmet. "Commander Skywalker, I have four civvies, a man, a woman and two children. They're dressed in identical black outfits. Should I take them to base?"

After a moment, Anakin Skywalker's voice came in through the comlink. "No."

Before Rex could speak, the padawan interjected. "Master!"

A conversation started between the two, annoying Rex. "Ahsoka," Skywalker said, not sounding very happy with anything. "We talked about this. We can't just pick up random people."

"I'm sure they're perfectly harmless."

"If they're spies, they're supposed to seem that way."

"Well, if they're spies, then they're not very good at their job. Those outfits in the desert are way too conspicuous."

"Ahsoka—"

"If I may, Commander," Rex said, fed up with the banter. "I can send you a holophoto."

Skywalker sighed. "Fine."

Rex motioned for the group to stand in a line, then took the picture and transmitted it. After a minute, Skywalker's voice came through again. "Oh, you weren't kidding with the black outfits. Look like Sith to me. Blast them."

Tano gasped. _"What? _Two of them are _children!"_

Rex sighed, in almost the exact same fashion as Skywalker had. "She does have a point, Commander."

Skywalker was silent for a long moment. "…Fine. Take them to base. If they try anything funny…"

"Of course, Commander." Rex waved to the four. "All right, hop in. Don't touch anything."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**And there you go. I actually pulled off the first chapter. This is going to be the best thing ever. :)**

**When Disney bought Lucasfilm, once I got over the initial anxious fanboy "NOOOOOOOOO!" reaction, my thought was, "There's going to be a Star Wars level in KH3." That cheered me up. :) As I said, the idea of Sora and friends doing mighty battle with Darth Vader sets off my Nerd Hormones like crazy. And the idea of **_**Axel, Roxas and Xion **_**getting involved just sends them through the roof and off into space. I searched to see if there was a similar fic I could draw inspiration from. I was very disappointed to learn there were only 32 crossovers (combining three sections that are separate for some reason), most of them are poor quality and the only one that even has Xion in it is part of the junk pile. **_**Shameful display! **_**If you want something done right… :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: What non-Disney franchise would you want to see in KH3, assuming everything was fair game? What would the level be like, or would it just be a favorite character as ally? Giftfic for the best answer.**

**Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for the next chapter of Heroics! (Clone Wars credit music plays)**


	2. Chapter 2

**And here's chapter two. I will say again that this is one of the most fun things I've ever written. The chance to let my Super Nerd run loose in the house is really awesome. :) I would like to thank LunaEtSidera for giving me an excuse to write something like this, which I've actually been wanting to do for a while, but I wasn't sure anyone would like it.**

**A quick shoutout to the folks in Kentucky, who had -40 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday. It's cold where I am, but not that cold. Stay safe, guys. You're in my thoughts.**

**Back to happier topics. Something I forgot to mention in the last chapter: The Decimator is based on the MacGuffin in the Clone Wars campaigns of the Episode II expansion pack for Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. I loved that game as a kid. :)**

**The Super Nerd is ready to go. Let's get to it before he tries to get me to write faster by throwing random Ultimate Showdowns at me. Yes, there will be a few Nerdy Ultimate Showdowns in this fic, because what else do you do when your two favorite things in the whole of pop culture meet? :)**

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_Don't fight, but if you must, then fight with everything you have._

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**STAR WARS—THE CLONE WARS**

**HEROICS**

**PART TWO—A NOBODY GOES TO WAR**

_(fanfare plays)_

Strangers in a strange land! The mysterious Organization XIII has sent four of its most skilled members to the planet Tatooine to face down the Decimator, a powerful new Heartless. They have been picked up by clone trooper Captain Rex, who is taking them back to the Republic base. How will they fare in this new world?

Meanwhile, Separatist forces comb the desert, hoping to use the Decimator for their own purposes…

0=0=0=0=0=0

Starfighters were not meant to be flown this fast and low to the desert, kicking up sand and flattening the occasional unlucky bantha under its repulsorlift field. But among her other talents, Asaijj Ventress was a good pilot. With the Dark Side flowing through her, she could pull off impossible feats like this with ease.

The hologram in front of her lit up, showing her master, Count Dooku. "Ventress. How is the search for the Decimator coming along."

Ventress kept her eye on the desert, barely missing an unusually large sand dune. "Not well, my master. Whatever that thing is, it does not want to be found."

"Or perhaps," Dooku said, drawing out the words. "It wants to be found by a specific person."

"What do you mean, master?"

"I had a holographic audience with Lord Sidious earlier. He believes that foreign entities not of this Galaxy have come to visit. He also believes that at least one of them wields what we seek."

Ventress couldn't believe her ears. "The Keyblade?"

"Yes. It would appear that it is more than just a legend." Dooku stroked his beard, pondering the possibilities of such a thing. "And it could be very useful to the Sith."

"And how do I acquire this weapon for us, my master?"

"That will be quite simple. The entities were probably drawn here by the same means as the Heartless. Thus, find the Heartless, and you find the wielder of the Keyblade…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

The journey to the base was mostly silent. The four gave their names to Captain Rex. Their business remained the same—very, very lost. _How _they got lost, they weren't saying, but Rex didn't care at the moment. As long as he got this over with, they could have suddenly appeared of thin air for all he cared.

The tank pulled into Tatoo Alpha, the main Republic base on Tatooine. It had been constructed hastily, and it showed. Tin domes had been built out of whatever could be scrounged from the local junkyards. The radar station was a row of short-range mobile radar vehicles. A small shield generator had been delivered, but the Heartless usually spawned inside it, rendering it more of a liability than an asset. A more complete base was in the works, but that wouldn't matter if this one was destroyed first.

Larxene (who appeared to be the grumpy one) helpfully noted, "This place is a scrapheap!"

Rex was quite annoyed with the woman already. "It's under construction, mam."

"Mam? Do I look old to you?"

Axel (the tired one) leaned over. "Larxene, I don't think it's a good idea to antagonize the guy with the two guns."

"I can get away with antagonizing Saix."

"You only think you do. Really, he's just noting everything and waiting for the day when ten Infernal Engines show up in the same world."

Roxas (the clueless one) shuddered. "I don't want to go on that mission."

"Which is why he'll send Larxene. Maybe Xion will do mop-up for heart collection."

Xion (the cute one) slapped Axel's arm playfully. "I don't want to go on it either!"

"Then he'll send Vexen and hope he can use his vast knowledge to collect some hearts himself. Now that, I'd want to see."

Larxene smirked. "Vexen does not have vast knowledge. Vexen is an idiot."

Axel nodded firmly. "On that, I have to agree with you."

Captain Rex had totally lost the conversation at this point. They were speaking in hushed tones, meaning he had to discreetly listen in via helmet microphone, but he had no idea what to make of it. Who was Saix, or Vexen? And more importantly, what did they mean about 'missions' and 'heart collection'? Rex didn't like it one bit, but he didn't have nearly enough information yet to confront them, so he kept his mouth shut for now and focused on parking the vehicle.

The tank pulled into a grey, tin garage. Commander Skywalker and General Tano were already there. Skywalker had his arms crossed, and walked toward the tank as it came to a stop.

Rex opened the hatch and saluted. "Greetings, Commander. The strangers have arrived.

Skywalker gave a curt salute back. "At ease. Ask which one of them is the leader."

Rex nodded and turned to the cloaked figures. "Which one of you do you consider to be the leader of your little group?"

Axel and Larxene stepped forward at the same time. They stared each other down for a moment. Axel smiled. "How about a vote among the assigned followers?"

Both of the teenagers pointed at Axel. "Him," they said simultaneously.

Axel let out a small laugh. "That's what I call a landslide victory.

Larxene waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever, I'm just the tagalong anyway."

Axel rolled his eyes and approached Skywalker, hand outstretched. "Hello there. I'm Axel. Your name?"

Skywalker stared at him for a moment before shaking his hand. "Commander Anakin Skywalker. I'm sure you've seen my face in the news."

"We, uh, don't watch the news much. So… bleak, with the war, you know? I want to keep the kids innocent as long as I can."

Skywalker gazed at the children. "Nothing stays innocent for long in this Galaxy. Not anymore."

"You seem like the pessimistic type."

"Yeah, war does that to you, doesn't it?"

Axel shut up. Xion looked confused again. Rex got the feeling that she was the most innocent person in the Galaxy. Too bad that innocence would have to be ruined soon. He sighed and walked up to his Jedi general. "What do we do with them, Commander?"

Skywalker surveyed the group. "The nearest city is a hundred kilometers away, so we're stuck with them for now. Call a charter ship to get them off this rock as soon as possible."

Xion tugged the collar of her coat and walked up slowly. "Um, sir, we actually need to be here. We have a job to do."

Skywalker raised his eyebrow. "And what job would that be, young one?"

"Um…"

Skywalker turned back to Axel. "Do you really have business here on Tatooine?"

"Yes, but it's a little hard to explain. How about we take a quick fifteen-minute break and come back?"

"Do you want the break to come up with some feasible story that doesn't involve smuggling?"

"Smuggling? No, that's not it at all. We've been walking in the desert for a few hours, then sitting in a hot vehicle for a few more, all while wearing black coats. We just need some time to rehydrate and recover."

Skywalker looked at him skeptically. "…Fine." He called to the golden protocol droid in the doorway. "Threepio, what's a reasonable amount of time for humans with black clothing to recover from Tatooine heat?"

Threepio waddled over. "Well, I'm no medical droid, but given their highly inappropriate fashion choices, I would say at least an hour."

Skywalker turned back to the four. "Okay, you guys meet me in an hour. We can get some more comfortable clothes for you if you want."

Larxene smiled in a way that was probably supposed to be seductive. "Oh, no, we've got to wear these. They're… work related."

Skywalker stared her down. "Work. Right." He turned to the droid again. "Threepio, get them food and water and keep an eye on them."

"Of course, Master Anakin." As Anakin walked off, Threepio turned to Axel, ready to repeat the usual lines. "Hello. I am C-3P0, human-cyborg relations."

Roxas stared up at the droid in awe. "You're a robot?"

Threepio looked at the boy. "That is an antiquated word, but under the definition, yes. The common term is droid."

"Cool…"

Axel clapped his hands together. "Why don't we go take them up on the offer of food, I could eat a horse…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Axel, I've been meaning to ask this…"

_Here it comes._

"…What's a war?"

_And there it is._

Axel sighed and shook his head. He had explained the term to Roxas once, after he had asked what the infantry was, but Xion hadn't needed to know up until now. War was not common in the worlds, and the Heartless were more of a force of nature than an enemy to be defeated. Apparently, though, all life in Far Away Galaxy was focused on some conflict between two groups that hated each other's guts. Axel didn't know who those groups were, though he had gathered that the side that owned this base was called the Republic, or what they were fighting over. Axel figured it was probably bad, if it was engulfing an entire galaxy.

Xion had pulled Axel into a deserted hall, and had even chased the annoying golden robot off, so he decided they had enough privacy for this conversation. He crouched down and held Xion on the shoulders. "Okay. First of all, war is bad. Really bad. It is so bad that everyone has to do everything they can to avoid it. The reason is that, when you fight a war, people get killed. A lot of people. Not just the fighters, innocent people, too. And there isn't anything that can avoid it. You just have to hope that more people on the other side get killed than your side."

Xion recoiled. "That's terrible! Why do it at all?"

"Because… sometimes you have no other option. Maybe the other side killed your guys first. Maybe they're killing innocent people, and you have to stand up for those people. Maybe they want to just move in and take over, and you have to defend yourself. It's always something bad."

Xion looked down. "Oh. Is there anything else?"

"Basically, a war is when two sides really, _really _hate each other, and they're lives become dedicated to killing each other. They will send thousands or even millions of people to try and kill each other. They will use every weapon they can get their hands on to kill each other. They will be in constant search of new, more effective ways to kill each other. And the only way to win is to kill the other guy first."

Xion was definitely horrified. She looked Axel in the eye, her own eyes huge and her jaw open. "How often does this happen?"

Axel sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, it happens a lot, especially in big worlds like this, with lots of room for multiple sides that hate each other. It's been happening since the beginning, and will probably keep happening until the end. A lot of people think war _is _the end, with everyone killing each other at once."

Xion now had her full-on 'oh, my God' expression. "I don't want it to end that way…"

"Neither does anyone else, which is why everyone has to do everything they can to keep war from happening. Like I said, war is bad."

Xion closed her eyes. "Us fighting the Heartless every day… is that a war?"

Axel considered this for a long moment. "Sort of," he said finally, trying to go for an answer that wouldn't totally appall her. "We're both trying to kill each other. But the Heartless are different. They were never really alive in the first place, and they're trying to kill everyone else. Our job is to stop them."

Xion was silent for a minute. "The Heartless… they don't have hearts. It's right there in the name. We don't have hearts either." She looked Axel in the eye, a piercing stare that he knew he'd be seeing in his dreams for a while. "Are we alive?"

Axel hugged her and whispered into her ear. "Yes. Because we're special."

Xion seemed satisfied. As for Axel, he wasn't sure he believed his own words.

0=0=0=0=0=0

An hour later, all four cloaked figures were in Anakin's makeshift office. It wasn't much—a small, dim, grey room with a desk, a few folding chairs and some holograms and datapads. The lights flickered every couple seconds. There was a rather ineffective fan running on the side of the desk, going round and round slowly, like a very slow dog chasing its tail.

Anakin leaned on the table. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions. You are to answer them truthfully. Understood?"

Axel nodded. "Of course."

"First question. Who do you work for?"

"We're a… mercenary unit. Organization XIII. There are ten others like us. We go around, dealing with Heartless when the Republic can't touch them."

"Organization XIII?" Anakin looked up the name on the holonet. Besides a few private holosites which had claimed the name as 'cool', there were no results. "There is no such mercenary unit."

"We just started. We haven't really done any ad campaigns yet. The clients we've had call us very effective, though."

"Until I see some references, I have to assume that Organization XIII does not exist. Have you registered with the Republic bureaucracy?"

"Uh, no. Not yet."

Anakin leaned in close. "Then you're criminals."

"What? No. We are definitely not breaking any laws. I was not aware that they passed a law that says you can't kill those vermin."

Anakin gave Axel a steely gaze. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you can't lie to a Jedi?"

"But we're not—"

"If you're mercenaries, soldiers by definition, then why do you have two minors in your employ?"

"Because they're _very special _minors, and—"

"In fact, why do you think the Republic will hire mercenaries at all when we can just send in more clones?"

"The clones can't be everywhere at once, and—"

"And didn't you say you don't watch the news much? I would assume mercenaries would search for work in the headlines."

Axel put his head in his hands. "Oh, wonderful. A detective."

"No. Just a highly-experienced Jedi."

"What is a Jedi?" Roxas blurted out.

Everyone stared at the blond boy, especially Anakin. How could this kid make it his whole life and not know what a Jedi was? It was every teenage boy's unattainable dream to be a Jedi. Either he was very stupid, or…

Anakin gave his best piercing glare. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Roxas cringed hard. "Whoops…"

_CLANG! FWOOM! PEW-PEW-PEW! BOOM!_

Xion screeched (hurting Anakin's ears a bit—after Axel, she was the closest to him) and ducked under the desk, covering her ears. Axel and Larxene got up and pulled chakrams and knives seemingly out of nowhere. Roxas pulled out a ridiculously large key and ducked down, trying to convince Xion to get up. Anakin got up and ignited his lightsaber (prompting a snappy "I think Xemnas visited this place once," from Larxene).

Captain Rex burst in and shut the door hard, locking it. "Commander, Heartless have spawned inside the base!"

Anakin did a quick test swing with his lightsaber, listening to the signature _vhwoosh. _"Yeah, we kind of noticed!"

Roxas was shaking his apparent friend. "Xion! They're Heartless! We've done this before!"

Anakin could sense simmering anger in Xion as she slowly got up. "Heartless… yeah. I can do this." She summoned an even bigger key, a black one with a large, blue gem in the handle. "They're going down."

Without waiting on Anakin or Rex, the four ran out, doing flourishes with their weapons. Axel had flames flying around him, and Larxene was shooting sparks of electricity. Anakin ran after them, making a flourish with his weapon.

A Watcher had spawned just outside the command center, and were blasting everything in sight. One of the bolts hit a tank of tibanna gas, and the whole row of canisters exploded spectacularly. As usual, they were taking only superficial damage from the small arms fire hitting them from all directions.

Xion rushed in and jumped in front of an injured clone trooper, blocking a plasma bolt with her key. The bolt hit the Watcher, and for once it actually did damage. The Watcher responded with a super-large beam of energy, hitting Xion just as she rolled out of the way. Xion tried to jump, but only got a millimeter off the ground.

Xion gritted her teeth. "I hate being shoe-glued!" She reached in her coat, feeling for something. "Where is it, where is it… what do you mean I forgot the panaceas?!"

Larxene jumped up and hit the thing from behind, knocking it to Roxas. Roxas swung at it with his key, causing it to light up and disappear. A giant heart floated up into the sky.

Everyone was silent for a long time, catching their breath. Then, all the clone troopers pointed their blasters at the group of four.

"I don't know who you really are," Anakin said. "But we can start by learning _what _you are."

Larxene gave him a smile. "Simple. We're Nobodies."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**And a nice cliffhanger for you. I do ever love cliffhangers. :)**

**I was going to end the chapter with Xion learning what war is, but I'm sure you've noticed that it's a bit of a downer. :P I also wanted to get to the action as soon as possible. My Nerd Hormones absolutely required it. And yes, I definitely wanted to mention Xemnas' 'totally-not-lightsabers', even in passing. You just keep telling yourself that, Xemnas… :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: What is the best nerdy KH Vs. SW showdown you can think of? Who would win, and why? Best answer gets a giftfic.**

**Thanks for reading, and get ready to jump to lightspeed when the next chapter of Heroics hits! (Clone Wars credit music plays)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three has arrived. I would like to give a quick shoutout to Trisa Slyne, who came in from the Writer's Anonymous forum and gave a very detailed review of the first chapter, and followed this story to boot. Thank you, Trisa! Based on her advice, I will be trying a slightly different format for the opening paragraph, and I am also centering all the line breaks. I'll probably go back and edit the previous chapters if you like it. Do give feedback.**

**Not much to say this time around. Let's get to it!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

_Man abhors that which it does not understand._

0=0=0=0=0=0

**STAR WARS—THE CLONE WARS**

**HEROICS**

**PART THREE—SO MANY QUESTIONS**

Sinister plans! Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress has been sent by Count Dooku to obtain the  
Keyblade, a legendary weapon once thought to be a mere myth, which the Separatists  
could use to take over the Galaxy. Can the Sith be stopped from committing this dark deed?

Meanwhile, four members of the mysterious Organization XIII have revealed  
their true nature by defeating a Heartless easily. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker now has them  
in custody, hoping to learn more about them, and what they may be planning…

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas let out a puff of air as the faceless soldier behind him pushed his back with the gun, urging him to move faster. The hallway was two things—very long, and very dim. The floor was covered in sand from outside, and it crunched under his boot as he walked. This base was clearly not designed to withstand any actual attack. Maybe this Republic didn't have as many resources as it liked to claim it did. He made a note to himself to tell Larxene—that was probably an important piece of recon. He did not look forward to telling her, though—talking to Larxene was very similar to attempting to reason with a swarm of angry bees.

He glanced at Xion. She was absolutely terrified by the big men with big guns. Given their white armor, he understood why she found them so unsettling. She was looking down at the ground, obviously trying to avoid staring directly at them. He tried to reach out to her, but then remembered that he was handcuffed. After a moment's thought, he blew a small kiss to her. She noticed the noise and looked him in the eye. He nodded, and a tiny smile formed on her lips.

The soldier pushed him again. "Keep moving, lovebirds."

Roxas shot a glare at Larxene, to ward off any snickering, and looked up at Axel. "Can't we just corridor out of here?" he whispered.

Axel sighed. "And go where? We can't RTC, we've still got work to do. We're still trying to figure out where this Decimator thing even is."

Roxas grumbled and kept walking. They exited the hall and entered a larger room, with a sign in some unrecognizable language hung up on the north wall. They looked vaguely like English letters, and he made a wild guess that they said something like _Holding Cells. _There were ten other doors, three on each of the walls to the east and west and four on the north, and there was a computer terminal in the middle of the room. A man who looked a lot like Luxord and a woman of a species other than human were sitting at the terminal, worried expressions on their faces. The sand had been swept up, but it otherwise looked very similar to the rest of the base.

Both figures stood up and walked over to Anakin, who was leading the Nobodies in. The man nodded to him. "Hello, Anakin. What have we here?"

Anakin stared his prisoners down. "The guys who took down that Heartless that attacked a few minutes ago. I'm sure you both noticed."

"Yes, but we were too far away to be of any help." He looked at them, giving Axel and Larxene an odd, lingering look. "Who are they, exactly?"

"The man is Axel. The woman is Larxene. The boy is named Roxas. And the girl is Xion."

The alien woman snorted. "I notice a theme in those names."

"I noticed that too, actually. I do plan to question them on that."

Axel poked his head in between the two. "Hey, we just saved your bacon. Is this any way to thank us?"

Anakin pushed him aside and gave him a steely glare. "We are all very grateful for your help, but you lied to me and then summoned melee weaponry out of thin air. I just want to know how you pulled off that little trick." He turned back to the man and woman. "Obi-Wan, you'll talk to Axel, because I've already talked to him. Ahsoka, you have the children. And I will talk to Larxene."

Larxene looked like she was about to make some snide comment, but Axel gave her a hard glare, and she kept her mouth shut. Axel and Larxene followed the men into separate rooms. The woman, apparently Ahsoka, clapped her hands together. "Okay, I'm think you two are cute, but Skyguy is convinced you're spies, so I'll have to have a conversation with you."

Roxas raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Skyguy?"

Ahsoka smiled. "Oh, that's my nickname for Commander Skywalker. I'm his padawan."

Xion was just as perplexed. "Padawan?"

Ahsoka laughed. "I'm the one who's supposed to ask the questions here. Come with me. I promise I'll go easy on you."

Xion smiled and nodded. "I like you."

"Glad to hear it!"

0=0=0=0=0=0

The room wasn't much. There was a desk and two chairs. One of the chairs had blue, glowing handcuffs on the armrests, which were holding Larxene in place. Theoretically, she could have just short-circuited the chair with her lightning powers, but that probably wouldn't make Anakin very happy, and the laser sword didn't look like it was just for show.

Speaking of Anakin, he leaning on the deak and giving her a stare she normally saw on the face of Saix in a bad mood. "First question. Who do you really work for?"

She scowled at him. "Organization XIII. We aren't mercenaries, but we exist. We're supposed to be covert."

Anakin narrowed his eyes. "And why would that be?"

"Well, if I told you, it wouldn't be very covert, now would it?"

Anakin leaned in even closer, getting in her face. "Don't be a smart aleck. I'm here for one reason, and that's to find out who you are, where you come from and what you want. It will be easier on both of us if you just answer the questions nicely."

Larxene sighed melodramatically, never losing her cool. "We defeat Heartless. We're here to help you out. Unless, of course, you don't want that help."

"I assure you that the Republic is handling the situation on its own."

"Are you?" She smiled and tilted her head. "It looked to me like you were defenseless. The bolts just bounced off that Watcher. We were the ones who actually did anything useful."

Anakin kept up the stare. "Okay then, I'll take it. Now, can you tell me what a Nobody is, and why I can't sense any of your emotions in the Force?"

"Sensing emotions in the 'Force'? Ah, so Jedi are psychics. What, can you see into my past lives, or something?"

Anakin's stare somehow got even harder. "No. But I can sense if you're lying. Normally, I would get it from the guilt of the liar, but here I have to rely on mind-reading. If you're as bad at concealing your real thoughts as Axel was, then this will be easy. Now answer the question."

Larxene smiled at him, enjoying herself, at least as far as she could enjoy anything. "You can't sense my guilt because I don't have any. It's a Nobody thing…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Obi-Wan gave Axel a skeptical look. "You don't have emotions?"

Axel sighed (Obi-Wan was starting to realize that he did that a lot). "Not really, no."

"You seem pretty animated to me."

"We work based off our memories of when we did have emotions. Oh, boy, why am I even telling you any of this…"

"Because you know that it's impossible to lie to me."

Axel hit his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes. "Look, all of this is really complicated, and all you need to know is that we're here to help with your Heartless problem."

Obi-Wan stroked his beard, considering. "All four of you are Nobodies. Is that correct?"

"Yup, we're all Nobodies."

"And due to this condition, none of you have any feelings whatsoever. Correct?"

"Ding-ding-ding. Give this man a cigar."

"Then why can I sense emotion in the children?"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas and Xion were squished up against each other on the large, intimidating interrogation chair. Ahsoka said she would have eschewed the chair, but she didn't have any spare seats. Roxas found it cramped, but being squished up against his girlfriend—that's what Demyx was calling them now, boyfriend and girlfriend, and it seemed right—was also soothing for some reason. Something to ask Axel about after the mission, he decided.

Ahsoka gave them a comforting smile. "This will be really easy. I just ask a question, and you answer it. Like this. Can you tell me your names?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

When they failed to continue despite keeping completely serious expressions on their faces, Ahsoka laughed. "Oh, man, you guys are so cute. You're supposed to actually tell me. I know what they are, but it helps you get comfortable."

Xion blushed. "Oh. I'm Xion. He's Roxas."

"There, see? That was easy. Where are you from?"

Roxas once again rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, we aren't supposed to tell anyone that."

"Why not?"

Roxas looked down at the floor. "I… don't know. That's just what they tell me."

The smile disappeared from Ahsoka's face. "Who's 'they'?"

"The rest of Organization XIII. We're not supposed to tell you who they really are, either."

Ahsoka bit her lip. "Do they let you tell anyone anything?"

"No. We're supposed to be a covert operation. We just fight Heartless, and that's all anyone is supposed to know. Usually, they don't even know that."

Ahsoka shook her head. "Guys, nothing that secretive is ever good. Why are you part of this Organization?"

Roxas shrugged. "We don't know anything else. It's the only thing we really have to hold on to."

Ahsoka leaned back in her chair and stared at the Keybearers with a sad expression on her face. Roxas wasn't sure why he was opening up to her, but it felt natural. It wasn't quite as relaxed as talking at the clocktower, but Roxas guessed that that came with time. Ahsoka was being really friendly, and despite her bright red skin and striped head-tails, she acted just like any human being.

After a long moment, Ahsoka sighed and moved on. "Anakin said you could summon weapons out of thin air. Can I see?"

Roxas and Xion looked at each other. Xion nodded, and they summoned their Keyblades, showing them off to Ahsoka.

Ahsoka gasped. "Wow… that's actually pretty impressive." She ran her hand over Oblivion, AKA Darklight. "Yours is cool."

Xion smiled. "Yeah. Roxas' is, too."

A beep came from the holographic projector on the desk. Ashoka raised her hand in a 'hold on' gesture and flipped a switch.

A miniature Captain Rex appeared, tinted blue by the hologram. "General Tano, we've picked up an unidentified vessel approaching the base fast. It will arrive in approximately three minutes. It's probably a Separatist ship."

Ahsoka got up. "What? Why are you telling me? Sound the alarm, tell Anakin!"

"Yes, sir."

The hologram clicked off. Roxas and Xion rose, getting into fighting stance. Ahsoka pointed at them. "No way, guys. You stay here."

Xion looked peeved. "What? Why?"

"Because it's safer."

Roxas made a flourish with his Keyblade. "We can fight!"

"I'm sure you're great at fighting Heartless, but droids can be just as dangerous, and they keep coming. And if it's just one ship, there might be Sith."

Xion looked confused. "What's a Sith?"

"Really scary bad guys. They can do some pretty nasty stuff. Trust me, you want to stay here."

Roxas still wanted to go with her, but he almost felt _compelled_ to stay. He could probably resist it if he wanted to, but Ahsoka did have a point, and the feeling was helping him notice it. With a sigh, he put away his Keyblade. Xion followed suit.

"I only have one more question," Roxas said. "Why did he call you 'sir' when you're a girl?"

Ahsoka grinned. "Because I'm his boss."

0=0=0=0=0=0

The ship landed just outside the base to find every available clone trooper surrounding it, pointing blasters at the cockpit. The silhouette of a Torgruta stood in front of the setting suns, wielding a green lightsaber reverse-handed. Ventress jumped out of the cockpit, her own lightsabers spinning. The troopers opened fire, but she dodged the plasma bolts with great ease. When she came down, two of the clones were impaled on her sabers.

Without preamble, Ahsoka charged, swinging her lightsaber at Ventress' neck. Ventress parried the blow and used a Force Push to blow her back into a wall. She similarly pushed the clones out of her way as she walked towards one of the shabby buildings, from which she could sense great power. That was probably the one with the Keyblade wielder in it, and if not, then it was Skywalker, always a secondary objective.

When she entered the building, she found Anakin Skywalker quickly, along with his companion, Obi-Wan Kenobi. They both had their lightsabers drawn. Ventress snorted. "Unless one of you wields a very large key, I am not interested in you."

Anakin looked shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered. "If you want one of those, come and get us."

Ventress used the Force to tear one of the makeshift tin walls down, throwing it into the Jedi. It slammed into them, knocking them to the floor. She jumped over the obstruction and ran, throwing down more walls behind her to delay pursuit.

She could feel the power getting closer, and she knew that it was definitely the Keyblade. Such a thing had only been spoken of in legends, dating back long before the birth of the Republic. The Jedi had thought it was just a metaphor for the earliest Force users. The Sith had always known otherwise.

The Sith were always right.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Xion could hear footsteps getting closer. She summoned her Keyblade again and got back into fighting stance. Roxas did the same, and they watched the door, ready to face whatever came through.

An alien woman came through, but it was not Ahsoka. She had the same glowing weapons as Anakin had, but she had two, and they were crimson red. She stopped in the doorway and spoke in a dark, sinister voice. "Oh. There are two Keyblades. All the better for the Sith."

Roxas attacked, and the Ethereal Blades—Xion choose to call them this, for lack of a better term—clashed with the Keyblade. The woman threw her hand out, and Roxas flew into a wall, falling unconscious. She flung her hand out to Xion much in the same way as she ran at the Sith. The woman was at least ten feet away, but Xion felt like she had just been hit with a battering ram. She slammed into the desk, knocking it over.

The woman stood over Xion, making flourishes with her lightsabers. She had a poker face on. "Now then. I am Ventress. Tell me your name."

Xion pulled herself up, using the chair for support. "No."

Ventress sent her a mesmerizing glare. "You will tell me your name, girl."

"No, I…" Xion held her temple. All of a sudden, she _wanted _to tell Ventress her name, as if she were just making normal introductions. She had gotten a similar compelling feeling from Ahsoka, but this was much stronger, and had an element of fear to it. "My name… is Xion," she said, just to make the terror go away.

It didn't go away. Ventress kept staring her down. "Now, Xion, you will fall asleep, just as your friend has."

Xion closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, trying desperately to fight back against the fear. "No, I won't."

Ventress' voice was echoing now. "Yes, you will, Xion."

Xion gripped the chair so hard that she could feel her hands going numb. "I'm… not tired…"

"Yes, you are, Xion. Hasn't it been such a long day?"

Xion could feel herself drifting out of consciousness. Somehow, it made everything even more terrifying. "I… I won't…" She finally mustered up the last of her strength to cry out. "Axel! Help!"

"I do not know who Axel is," Ventress said, her voice sparking with sadistic joy. "But I doubt he can resist the Dark Side of the Force, either."

Xion fell to the ground, and all of her thoughts floated away.

0=0=0=0=0=0

**For the record, **_**I **_**got scared writing that last scene. The things I'll write for a good cliffhanger… :)**

**So, screentime-wise, the Keybearers kind of got the best deal here. I think I've gotten so used to writing Xion that I can **_**only**_** write her. It's the eyes, her power comes from those big, blue anime eyes… :P Don't worry, though, the others will get plenty of screentime in the next chapter. Heck, part of the purpose of this story was to give Larxene a day in the limelight when I wouldn't write her otherwise. Keyblademaster, you are giving me a writing challenge. Good job. :)**

**Credit where credit is due: "Give this man a cigar" is a reference to Darths and Droids, a Star Wars webcomic that parodies pen-and-paper roleplaying games, imagining the whole film saga as a roleplaying campaign. It's funny and geeky and awesome, read it if you like Star Wars and tabletop RPGs. Maybe I could do something similar for KH… hmm… *files away in idea folder* :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. I don't have anything good for RQT this time around, but I've got my hands full right now anyway. Heck, if Trisa wants a giftfic, I kind of owe her one for the concrit. :)**

**Thanks for reading, and hang on to that cliff for dear life as you wait for chapter four! (Clone Wars credit music plays)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yes, at last, the fourth chapter of Heroics is here! Sorry this took so long. It took me a bit to figure out where to take the story next. Side-effect of going off the rails from the outline, I suppose. :) But it's here now, for your reading pleasure!**

**Before we begin, if you like Doctor Who, I have an announcement. I am working with fellow KH fan Bigbear98 to create a new Doctor Who/Kingdom Hearts crossover titled The Blue Box That Never Was. In it, the members of Organization XIII are portrayed as incarnations of the Doctor, and people from various works of fiction are the companions. This is brilliant. We will both be writing chapters for it, and he will be posting them. The first two chapters (both by him) are already up, so if you're a fellow Whovian, hop over there and check it out! And yes, I did call dibs on Xion. :)**

**Okay, that's enough hyping about a different story. Time to read this one!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

_A friend will lift you up, but a real friend will fight the man who knocked you down._

0=0=0=0=0=0

**STAR WARS—THE CLONE WARS**

**HEROICS**

**PART FOUR—PRISONER**

Captured! Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress has taken Roxas and Xion,  
the wielders of the Keyblade, as her prisoners. She hopes to use their Keyblades  
for the purposes of the Sith, and her hold over them through the Dark Side  
is strong. Can they escape Separatist clutches?

Meanwhile, Axel hears a cry for help, and must rescue  
his friends through any means necessary…

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Axel! Help!"

Axel had many stock responses to such a cry. None of them were good for the health of whoever they were aimed at.

His first response was to jump up and summon his chakrams. This might have worked, had he not been strapped down to a chair. He cursed and used his flames to melt the wiring of the chair, freeing himself. He kicked down the door, caught sight of a creepy alien woman with no hair whatsoever, saw that she was carrying Roxas and Xion by their hoods and charged her without hesitation. She swung her swords—_probably swords_—down on him, and he blocked them with his chakrams.

She looked surprised for a moment, then snarled at him. "Insolent fool. I presume you are the Axel this girl spoke of?"

"Yeah, and I want her back."

"Too bad." The woman flicked her hand, and Axel was sent flying. He slammed into the opposite wall, wincing in pain. He was about to say something cool like, _Now it's even more personal,_ but the alien woman was already making off, moving at a supernatural speed.

Axel tried to run after her, but she was too fast. She ran to what appeared to be a spaceship, threw Roxas and Xion in the backseat and hopped in. The ship took off before Axel could even throw his chakrams.

As far as rage went, Axel could do pretty good for a Nobody. He shook his fist at the ship as it flew off into the sky. "So you think you can take my Keybearers?" he yelled. "Think again, lady! I'll never stop hunting you! I will destroy you! I'll get them back! Just you wait!"

The onslaught of exclamation points was interrupted by a voice behind him. "You know she can't hear you, right?"

Axel spun around. There was Anakin, walking towards him slowly with arms crossed. Axel marched up to him. "This is your fault," he said, pointing an accusing finger. "She has them now, and if you hadn't had all of us in custody so that you could play Bad Cop, she wouldn't have stood a chance."

Anakin raised his hand. "First of all, I wasn't trying to play 'Bad Cop', in your words. I was trying to figure out who you are and why you're here. Second, no, she would have. That was Asajj Ventress, and she is one of the most dangerous people in the Galaxy."

"There were four of us. We could handle one woman with laser swords."

"They aren't lasers. They're plasma."

"Not. Relevant."

Ahsoka ran towards the Commander. "Master, she was too fast. Roxas and Xion are gone."

"Working on it, Ahsoka."

Axel shoved past her and got up in Anakin's face. "Listen here. They are my best friends, and I am not letting some bald creep just kidnap them. My term as your prisoner has ended."

"And where, exactly, do you plan to go?"

"You can't keep me here."

"I never said I would. I mean, where do you go when the person you're looking for is off-world, and everything for a hundred kilometers is nothing but desert?"

Axel opened his mouth, realized the man had a point, shut it and sighed. "Well, can you help at all?"

"Thank you for asking. We are Jedi Knights. We rescue political hostages about once or twice a week. We can definitely retrieve two children."

Axel looked up at the sky where the ship had been. "Then go release Larxene, and we'll talk."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas opened his eyes slowly. Everything was so blurry and bright. It took him a moment to figure out where he was. He was in a grey, metal room, much sleeker than the base, with two benches (one of which he was laying on), a sink and an attached room he hoped was a bathroom of some sort. One of the walls wasn't really a wall, just a constantly humming blue energy field. Xion was on the other bench, fast asleep.

Roxas got up and tapped her shoulder. When she didn't respond, he decided to try what she always did to wake him up—a good shake. It was a thin bench, and her basic reflexes kicked in when she neared the edge. She shot awake, pulling back and gasping. Her head hit the wall, and she cringed.

Roxas did the same. "Sorry, my fault."

"No, it's fine…" Xion rubbed the back of her head. When she looked him in the eye, she blinked and sighed in relief. "Roxas! Thank goodness you're all right."

"I was thinking the same thing, only about you."

"Thanks for looking out for me."

"I'll always look out for you, Xion."

She nodded and looked around. "Where are we?"

A disturbing voice came from behind the energy field. "In my prison ship."

The Keybearers whipped around. There was that creepy bald alien lady. She was flanked by two hulking silver droids who looked like they probably wouldn't go down as easily as a Heartless. She had her arms behind her back, and gave them a cold stare.

Xion gasped. "Oh, no."

"Hush, Xion. I am Asajj Ventress. Tell me your name, boy."

Xion shook her head vigorously at Roxas. "Don't tell her! She's more powerful if—"

"I said _hush, _Xion." Ventress shot her a glare, and instantly she put her hands to her mouth. She looked absolutely terrified.

Roxas scowled and put on his darkest tone of voice. "Whatever you're doing to her, I won't let you keep doing it, and I certainly won't let it happen to me."

"I said tell me your name."

Roxas could feel a compulsion to tell her, but he wasn't giving in. He balled his fists. "Not unless you let us go."

"Ah, but that would defeat the whole point of capturing you."

"Then let her go."

Ventress raised her eyebrow. "All right. If you tell me your name, she shall be released."

Xion was whispering, even though she looked like she wanted to scream. "Don't listen to her. Don't tell her, please don't…"

Roxas kept staring Ventress down. "Show me that you aren't lying."

Ventress growled and shot her hand out. Xion clasped her throat like she was choking. Ventress wasn't even looking at her. "There's your proof, boy. If you tell me, I shall release her from this hold."

He gaped at Xion, seeing the utter panic in her eyes, and turned back to Ventress. "Fine! I'm Roxas! Happy now?"

Ventress lowered her hand, and Xion gasped again, wheezing and sucking in air. "There, was that so hard?" She pressed a button, and part of the field became a little less bright. She stepped through, still giving Roxas a cold stare. "Now, Roxas, you will give me your Keyblade."

Roxas summoned his Keyblade and got into fighting position. "Okay. You'll get a Keyblade. To the face!"

"Drop it, Roxas."

Indeed, the urge to go along with her orders was stronger now, but he was too angry to surrender to it. "Why should I? You captured us and tried to choke my best friend! I am not going to stand for that! Did you expect me to just hand it over?"

"There are two ways we can do this, Roxas. The easy way is to hand over the Keyblade now. The hard way is more painful."

"If you touch her again, you'll be the only one in pain!"

"Hard way, then. Naïve fools like you always take the hard way."

Roxas swung his Keyblade at Ventress' head. She ducked under it and grabbed his arm, rolling the sleeve up and grabbing his skin. He dropped the Keyblade and cried out in agony. It _hurt—_he felt like he was dipping his whole arm in some unholy mix of lava and acid. When Ventress let go, Roxas could see that red bruises had formed where her hands had gripped him.

Ventress picked up the Keyblade. instantly, it disappeared and reappeared in Roxas's hand. She scowled at him. "If you want it that way, fine. I'll see you in a few hours. I have to figure out what to do with you."

Roxas threw his hand out and opened a dark corridor. "We're leaving."

"No, you are not, Roxas. Neither are you, Xion."

Xion just nodded, which scared the heck out of Roxas. He grabbed Xion's arm and started to walk through the corridor. But then he felt a tug, and fell to the ground. When he turned around, he realized that it was Xion who had pulled him.

She was still whispering. "I'm sorry, but I can't fight her, she scares me so much…"

Rage flowed through him. He gave Ventress the hardest look he could manage. "We'll find a way out of this."

Ventress walked off. "No, Roxas. You won't."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Saix checked the time. It was 8:00 PM now. Bedtime was in an hour. Even with their hard mission, surely the trio and Larxene should have been back ages ago. Whatever was keeping them was probably bad. But it wasn't Vexen—he had been on probation since the incident in Arendelle, and he wouldn't be foolish enough to try anything. But then what was going on?

He heard the noise of a dark corridor opening and jolted his head at the source of the sound. Indeed, he could see the portal opening in the usual spot. But, after a few seconds, it flickered and vanished, with nothing having come out of it.

Saix knew immediately that something was wrong. He got up and walked to the middle of the Grey Room. Most of the members were in, pursuing their individual hobbies. He clapped his hands for attention. "Is there anyone here who actually cares what happens to the four members assigned to Far Away Galaxy?"

Most didn't react. Zexion raised his hand, not looking up from his book. "I must admit that Xion has grown on me. Also, our little trio frequents my library. It would be a shame if I didn't see them again."

Demyx shot up, showing off his usual overdramatic self. "Xion's halfway through my sitar class, man! I can't lose my only student mid-course!"

Luxord shrugged. "Well, they are four members of the Poker League. The children are getting better, and Larxene is practically a legend. Like Zexion said, losing them would be a shame."

Marluxia got up. "We can't lose the Keyblades. They are essential to the plan… our plan, of course."

Well, it wasn't much of a rescue team, but it would have to do. Saix snapped his fingers. "Then let's go. We have a rescue mission to undertake."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Larxene hadn't been inside many spaceships, but she gathered that the _Twilight _was on the lower end of the spectrum.

While it was certainly a lot more galactic-civilization-looking than the tin 'military base', it still looked like it had seen better days. It was rusty and grimy. The lights were dim, giving everything an ever-so-slightly green hue. The whole ship had that 'it'll fall to pieces if I touch the wrong spot' feel to it. Larxene even spotted a few frayed wires, which she was pretty sure weren't supposed to be on a spaceship.

Of course, she seized the opportunity for a sarcastic comment. "Yup, this totally looks like it can save two kids from a massive robot army. Totally."

Anakin was hitting buttons and flipping switches seemingly at random, and the ship was lighting up and making humming noises. "She doesn't look like much, but give her a little love, and she's your best friend up there."

Larxene rolled her eyes. "Do all men refer to inanimate vehicles as people?"

"Yes, actually. Get used to it."

Axel strode over. "Larxene, why do you feel the need to aggravate literally everyone here to no end?"

She gave him a snarky smile. "Because without emotions, I have to find a new source of fun."

"Get a hobby."

"This doesn't count as a hobby?"

Axel sighed and walked over to Ahsoka, who was pretty much doing the same thing Anakin was doing. "I know a town called Twilight. I meet there with Rox and Xi every day for ice cream."

Ahsoka didn't look up. "That sounds cute. But why are you telling me this?"

"Appeal to your sympathy to make you get this bird in the air faster."

Ahsoka sighed. "It's a starship. It's complicated."

"You still seem to be taking your sweet—"

Ahsoka hit a final button, and the ship shuddered. It started rising into the air, picking up speed. Other than the initial shudder, it was surprisingly easy to stand, which disoriented Larxene a bit. It didn't help Axel, though—he fell on his bottom.

Larxene smirked. "Does this ship have a security camera? I've been needing blackmail footage of him."

Axel got up and dusted himself off. "Don't forget my footage of you reading a certain other Twilight."

"Oh, give me a break."

Axel grinned. "It's something Saix taught me. Mutual deterrence, Larxene. Mutual deterrence."

The ship was far above the planet now. Ahsoka turned to Anakin. "Okay, we're in orbit. Now what?"

Anakin started typing something into a computer. "Follow her last known trajectory and hope for the best."

"And if we don't find them, or if we do and they are able to take us on?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, Snips."

Ahsoka beamed. "Sounds like a plan to me."

The two Jedi and two Nobodies stared out the window as the _Twilight _blasted off into the stars.

0=0=0=0=0=0

**And finally, it is done. Too bad I've got to write more of them. :)**

**So yeah, Ventress equals Freaking Scary. I'm not sure if she shows mind control to this extent on the show, but from what I've seen of her, she is definitely capable of it, especially when dealing with two teenagers with five months of life experience. Hopefully, this will keep up the suspense well. Suspense is always good, especially when it isn't resolved until the **_**very last second. **_**:)**

**Interestingly enough, I recently got a book titled **_**The Space Hero's Guide To Glory. **_**It's a humor book with all the usual Space tropes (always capitalize Space), and it's serving as surprisingly good inspiration material. After all, this whole story is basically 'Kingdom Hearts **_**IN SPACE**_**.' :) Speaking of tropes, the Reluctant Father Universe page on TV Tropes still needs some help… pretty please? It's hard work finding and listing all these tropes… :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Hands are full right now, so no giftfic offers this time, but do mention in your review what the number one thing on your Kingdom Hearts III wishlist is, because I'm in the process of outlining a KH3 fic and I want inspiration.**

**Thanks for reading, and set your course for the fifth chapter of Heroics, the greatest Kingdom Hearts/Star Wars crossover ever! Not to brag, or anything. :) (no, Wish Upon A Star plays, **_**of course **_**it's the Clone Wars credit music!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wonder how long it's been since the last chapter… I'll check… **_**holy pancake, a month and a half?!**_

**Yeah, you probably thought I forgot all about this thing. Well guess what—I haven't! I am here to **_**finally **_**release Chapter Five of this glorious tale. I want to delay as little as possible, so we'll just start right now. Enjoy!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

_Plans help, but sometimes, you have to make do with what you can come up with at the spur of the moment._

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**STAR WARS—THE CLONE WARS**

**HEROICS**

**PART FIVE—ESCAPE**

A man on a mission! In response to the kidnapping of his  
best friends, Axel has vowed to undertake a dangerous mission with  
the Jedi and Larxene to rescue them. Will he be able  
to find them in time?

Meanwhile, Roxas and Xion have been captured by  
the evil Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress, and are realizing that  
the powers of the Dark Side are far greater than  
they could ever hope to grasp…

0=0=0=0=0=0

The sound of the droids marching up and down in front of the cell were starting to become annoying. Had she been more in control of herself, Xion surely would have done something to them similar to what she did to the water heater a few months before. Of course, if she was in control of herself, she would have used a dark corridor to get out of there by now. Unfortunately, she was not really in control of herself right now. At all.

Roxas was sitting next to her on the little plank that the droids claimed was supposed to be a bed. He held her arm lightly. "It's okay. She's gone. We can corridor out of here now."

Xion almost got up, but then a feeling of absolute dread and fear gripped her, and involuntarily, she grabbed Roxas' arm and shook him. "No! We can't!"

Roxas placed his hands over her shoulders to calm her down. "Why not?"

Xion tried to think of a good reason, even though she wanted to just let Roxas take her away from here. "Because… because… because we just can't!"

Roxas placed a hand on her head, as if checking for a fever. It seemed like he had just thought of something. "…How does your head feel?"

_Hurts… hurts… let me tell him it hurts… _"…I'm fine."

"No, you're not. If you were fine, you'd go with me in a dark corridor."

_Please, please, let me tell him the truth… _"No, I wouldn't, because I can't, because… Axel wouldn't know what happened to us."

"Yes, he will. And if doesn't, he'll find out as soon as he gets back."

_Stop making words come out of my mouth… it's my mouth, I want to choose what I say… it's my head, get out of my head… _"…Someone's in my—"

She was interrupted by a sudden white-hot pain in her head, grabbing that train of thought and ripping it from her. She clutched her head and screamed at the top of her lungs. Roxas grabbed her and held her tight. "Shush," he said, stroking her hair with a delicate touch, trying to soothe her just like Axel did. "It's okay… I've got you… it's okay…"

Xion made a deep sigh. "What... what was I just thinking about?"

Roxas held Xion's cheeks and looked her in the eyes. "That Ventress lady is controlling you, isn't she?"

"Ye—I mean, no, no, she isn't, no… yes—_no, no.._"

"Of course she is." Roxas gave a cold, hard stare to the droids patrolling outside their cell. "She's going to get it."

"But what if…" Xion grit her teeth, trying to fight off the fear rising in her. "What if she controls you?"

"She won't. I'm too mad to let her." Roxas got up and started pacing around the cell. "Okay. There are too many of those robots outside the door to just escape with the Keyblade. Maybe…"

He went to a small air vent in the corner of the room and kicked the grating down. After quickly checking to make sure it wasn't filled with choking dust or poison gas or some other horrible thing, he waved to Xion. "This way."

Xion just stared at him. "Isn't that a little small?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

She looked outside the cell at the droids. There appeared to be more of them than the last time she looked. "…No, not really."

With that, she got down on all fours and followed Roxas into the ventilation shaft, even as whatever Ventress had put in her brain screamed at her not to.

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_Roxas! Xion! Come to me!"_

_They're shaking their heads. "We can't," Xion says._

"_Why not?"_

"_She won't let us."_

_I try to reach out to them, but the gap is too wide. "She's not me! Don't listen to her!"_

"_I'm sorry, Axel, but I have to." She grabs her head, looking like she's in terrible pain. "It hurts so much…"_

"_Xion, I'll make it stop. Just come to me."_

_She starts to walk towards me, but the she falls to her knees and screams. Roxas runs over to her, but falls to the ground screaming, too. Ms. Creepo walks into the picture, holding their heads. They calm down, but now they have blank stares on their faces. "Kill him," she says. "Kill Axel, and you'll never hurt again."_

_Xion is silently crying as she charges at me. I try to summon my chakrams, but I can't. She lunges…_

Axel shot up in bed. He had made the choice to take a nap during the long flight, but now he regretted it. He rubbed his face with his hands, telling himself that Roxas and Xion could handle themselves and that they would be okay. His words rang hollow in his mind.

After a moment, Axel got out of bed and walked to the cockpit. Anakin was sitting in the pilot's seat. He turned his head. "You woke up just in time. We're almost out of hyperspace."

"Good to hear. I'm done with this day." Axel slumped down in the chair next to Anakin. "I am _so _done."

"Honestly, I am, too."

Axel took in the sight of the stars 'warping' around the ship. "You know, under different circumstances, I think we would get along really well."

Anakin sighed. "Well, it isn't different circumstances. Sorry I was so suspicious of you, though."

"No worries. I'm used to it."

The Twilight came out of hyperspace right then. When Axel saw what they were up against, his non-existent heart sank like a brick in the ocean.

The ship now in view in front of them was _huge—_at least an order of magnitude larger than the Twilight. Most of it was a large sphere, bristling with guns, missiles and other dangerous-looking things. On the front of the sphere (what Axel decided was the front, anyway), there was a protrusion, itself twice as big as the Twilight, also filled with various armaments. On the front of that protrusion was a small window, a narrow black slit that gave the ship the appearance of having angry, determined eyes. All in all, very intimidating.

Axel whistled. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Anakin snorted. "Don't say that. It only makes things worse. Trust me on this one—personal experience…"

Axel looked the ship up and down. "Okay, now what?"

"We sneak onboard. If I had to guess, those kids are probably being held somewhere in that sphere."

"Pretty big just to hold two kids."

Anakin shrugged. "Maybe it's holding something else."

"Like what?"

"Can't worry about that now. We'll deal with that when we get to it."

"Your planning style confounds me."

A familiar female voice came from behind them. "It isn't like you're much better."

Axel turned around. "Larxene. I was kind of hoping you'd stay asleep."

"_Stay _asleep?" Larxene rolled her eyes. "I never got to sleep in the first place! It's impossible with all the racket this thing makes. How do you people ever catch any rest when everything's so loud?"

Anakin laughed. "That's most people's response when they first fly in a starship, especially if they didn't start young. Don't worry—you get used to it."

"Only explanation I can think of for how you tolerate it." Larxene walked up to the window. "Is that it?"

Axel sighed. "Yup."

"We're screwed."

"Anakin just told me not to say that."

Larxene rolled her eyes again. "Are we going in or what?"

Anakin pumped up the throttle and flew toward the enemy vessel. "Thanks for asking."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Saix stepped out of the dark corridor to find a collection of burning buildings.

This gave him some shadow of what a Somebody might have called shock. He had managed to ascertain the group's last planetside location by following the trail that the vehicles they had encountered had left in the sand. They looked like they belonged to high-tech machines of war, the kind of thing used by the most powerful civilizations to destroy each other. Whoever—or _whatever_—had done this to the base was even more powerful… and therefore more dangerous. The Decimator?

It didn't matter right now. Saix got straight to work investigating. He led his rescue team to a collapsed building that somehow wasn't on fire and dug up a small, round disc. When he hit the button on the side, a hologram popped up, showing an image of what was unmistakably Roxas and Xion. Another button brought up a hologram of Axel and Larxene.

Saix exhaled loudly. "What part of 'covert operation' do they not understand?"

Luxord snorted. "I, for one, have learned to be flexible with that rule when the need arises. Something unanticipated always happens on missions… especially when our little trio is involved."

Saix lingered on the hologram of Xion (out of surprise more than anything else), then put both projectors in his pocket. Just then, a computerized voice sounded behind the group. "Hands up. Identify yourselves."

All five Nobodies turned around to find robots with dinky heads pointing guns at them. These robots wouldn't have looked out of place at the construction toy aisle of a toy store. Saix nodded to Zexion, and within seconds, all of the bots where zapped by a Thundara spell. They collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Zexion bent down and touched one of the more intact bots. "You know… I have studied _Programming for Nobodies… _perhaps this little alien robot can take us to its leader."

Saix gave him a skeptical look. "Are you sure you can do that?"

"Oh, didn't you know? When you read as much as I do, you eventually hit a point where you can do pretty much anything…"

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**Could it be? Is the chapter I've been procrastinating on for so long finally done and ready to publish? Yes! It is! I'm so happy! Whoop-whoop! :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Hopefully, a schedule slip like this won't happen again, but now that I'm finally allowed to post other things again, I might binge on other things. Lots of ideas bouncing around in my head right now. Stay tuned…**

**Thanks for reading, and keep watching for the next chapter of Heroics! (Clone Wars credit music plays, as usual)**


End file.
